Beijing Urges Citizens to Register Their E-Bikes with Hefty Fines

It’s been slightly over six months since Beijing authorities passed a by-law requiring that all e-bike owners register their precious vehicles to make sure they comply with government-set standards.

Yet up until now at least a million of unregistered electric mopeds are roaming the streets of the capital, taking their owners to and from work, and delivering your food. Chances are that you own one of those yourself, and if you do, make sure to get it licensed promptly – otherwise you might be looking at a penalty roughly equal to the price of your iron pony.

The local government has sworn to fine offenders RMB1,000 for riding an unlicensed vehicle, unless they can present proof that they have made an appointment for registration or are planning to do so shortly, as reported by CCTV. Out of nearly four million e-bikes known to zoom across the city every day, a million that met all standard requirements have already been licensed, while the other two million have received temporary licenses, which give their owners three years to upgrade their bike or simply get a new one.

However, a huge chunk of the e-bike crowd is either not privy to the ongoing crackdown on fishy vehicles or hoping to slip past the new regulations (a risky bet, to say the least).

E-bikes are popular in China, being cheap, convenient and eco-friendly. In theory, it would make sense to promote them as the ultimate mode of urban transportation, environmentally speaking. But according to the National Bureau of Statistics, the nimble vehicles are responsible for almost 9% of all traffic incidents in the country, a pretty unsettling figure for such a machine. And hey, if the new law will help drive those numbers down, we’re all for it.